The paper presents a new hybrid wind turbine system that is formed by a continuously variable transmission connection of the turbine drive shaft with an air expander/compressor. A mechanical power split device is designed to synthesize the power delivered by the wind turbine\udand the air expander/compressor. A small scale hybrid wind turbine system is mathematically modelled, analyzed and validated using a laboratory-scale experimental test rig. By utilizing compressed air energy storage it is shown that the hybrid wind turbine system can provide smooth power output under fluctuating wind speed conditions. Such a direct connection structure reduces the overall system cost by using one generator instead of two compared with the conventional\udCAES system structure. The study demonstrates the benefit of\udimproved efficiency and flexibility brought to the turbine operation by the hybridization of wind energy and stored energy.\ud
展开▼
